Foot guard for guard rails



FOOT GUARD FOR GUARD RAILS Filed Dec. 21, 1925 INVENTOR Em] z mmarmd/ A ATTORNEY Patented on. 4, 1927.

nears-o srATEs YEIVIIL CARL ZIMMERMAN, or NEw'YoRm N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 ea 0 COMPANY 7 1,644,048 PATENT OFFICE.

on NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF'MAINE.

roo'r GUARD non GUARD RAILS.

Application filed December .21. 1925. Serial No. 76,579.

This invention relates to foot guards for employment in connection with guard rails of railway track equipment and consists of an improved construction adapted to beeconomically manufactured and to possess im portant advantages in its use.

The improved foot guard of the present invention may desirably be made of malleable iron casting of suitable form to be eniployed as a substitute for the customarily used wooden foot guards, thereby eliminating a material objection to the use of the wooden guards incident to their unauthorized removal and diversion to other uses. The improved foot guards of the present invention are particularly designed to be light in weight and to be secured in operating po sition in a simplified and efficient manner without the employment of bolts, for this purpose being of an improved form adapted to be secured by the ordinary track spike or spikes and further are specially formed with relation to the securing feature to provide for properly securing the guards under varied conditions of installation and tie spacing.

The foregoing and other features and advantages of my improved foot guard mem-- her will be more fully understood by a reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters are applied to the corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross sectional View of my improved guard member taken on line a a of Fig. 9., showing the manner of installation.

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, and

Fig. 3 is a view of the guard member in side elevation.

In the improved embodiment of the features of my present invention as illustrated,

the foot guard member proper is formed as a single piece casting of the required longitudinally tapering form to be fitted between the track rail 1 and the flared end portion of the usual guard rail 2. The footguard member comprises a horizontally extending upper wall portion 8 having its outer end portion downwardly inclined at 4. At its marginal longitudinal side portions the wall 3 is provided with the upturned flange portions l and 5 having their upper surfaces inclined and substantially parallel to the angular fishing surfaces at the under sides of the rail heads, the flange portions being further arranged and of a widthto fully underlie the rail heads. For the latter purpose, the flange portion 5 is angularly disposed to conform to the angularity of the guard rail flared endportion so as to be longitudinally parallel therewith. At its end portions the foot-guard member is provided with vertical and transversely extending supporting ribs or walls6 and 7 integral with the horizontal wall?) and flanges 4-5 and at an intermediate position there is provided a central transversely extended supporting wall or rib 8 of verse walls 6 and 8, they have integrally formed therewith vertical and longitudinal extended reinforcing ribs or shoulders 10 and 11 united with the underside of the horizontal wall 3. For the purpose of lightening the structure and effecting corresponding economy the upper wall may be provided with a series of openings 12 as indicated.

In further accordance with the present invention, an improved means for securing the foot guard member is provided. For this purpose, the guard member is formed at its outerend portion with an integral securing flange extension 14 provided with a longitudinally extending series of spike apertures .15. The securing flange 14. as shown, extends horizontally in a position or planeto bear upon the usual cross tie and by reason of its extension or elongation, as shown, it will accommodate for'variations in the tie. spacing with relation to the proper position of the foot guard'member and. moreover, allows of firmly securing the foot guard through the instrumentality of the ordinary track spike or spikes without rearrangement of the ties. The improved foot guard is, moreover, comparatively light in weight and accordingly economical of manufaoture and is of a design to afford the desired protection. At the inner end of the securing flange 14,1t is formed with the vertical mar ginal edge reinforcing flanges 16 having their inner portions united with the end transverse wall, 7.

While I have disclosed a suitable embodiment of the features of my invention, it will be understood that varied modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the ap pended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

An integrally cast foot guard member for use with guard rails of railway track structures consisting of a body member having an upper wall p j rtion formed with an inclined outer end and longitudinally extend' ing upturned marginal flange portions underlying the rail heads, transversely arranged vertical supporting: walls at the resspeetive ends and intermediate portion of the body member v said walls being formed. to have bearing engagement with the rail Webs and base flanges, a securing flange longitudinally and outwardly extending from the body member in substantially the horizontal plane of the rail base and formed with a longitudinal series of spike apertures adapted for securing the flange to" a tie in varied spaced relation to the body member, vertically disposed reinforcing rib portions positioned at opposite sides of the securing flange and writing said flange with the outer end Wall portion of the body member and said upper Wall of the body member being formed with openings for lightening the structure.

Signed at New York eity in the county of New York and State of New York this 9th day of November, A. D. 1925.

EMIL eAnLziMM RMAn 

